Loose leaf book



Aug. 23, 192.2.v F, H E 1,872,824

LOOSE LEAF BOOK Filed May 19. 1931 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 & r 7:75

I I I II I 9 I g I I O A? o o 8 INVENTOR. 1 '8 Hwvx S. SCHADE 1 2 M ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 23,1932. F. s. SCEHADE 1,872,824

7 LOOSE LEAF BOOK Filed May 19, 1931 I 2 sums-sheet 2 j 8 3 8 o o /5 o o f 8 O 0 o o o o o -2 o 8 8 o o 8 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 8 o 8 8 J OJ IN VEN TOR.

fRA NK 5. Sumo: BY z A TTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK s. scr'rAnE, or HonYoKn-MAssAcgUsETTs, ASSIGNOR To NATIONAL BLANK 3001: COMPANY, or HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION or MASSACHU- SETTS oosE LEAF 3001:

Applicationm May 19,

This invention relates to loose leaf books. Its object is to provide an improved structural arrangement of leveling pads for use in a book having sets or banks of overlapping record sheets with division sheets between each bank, and which need pads to give the entire book filler a substantially uniform thickness. The improvement is in the character of the pad and in the character of the arrangement of the pads with the sheets in the book.

To illustrate my invention in a preferred form and in some alternative forms, refer ence is made to the accompanying drawings and description:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one set or bank of overlapping sheets, called record sheets, such as may lie between two index or dividing sheets in a loose leaf binder;

Fig. 2 is an edge view of thebank of overlapping sheets of Fig. 1 with the sheets slightly separated to more clearly show their arrangement, whereas such sheets are normally not thus separated in the book but lie directly in contact with one another;

\ Figs. 3 and 4 show a pair of the improved leveling pads in their preferred form and in the arrangement where the 'pad of Fig. 3 would lie against the back of a set of record sheets at the top and the pad of Fig. 4 would lie against the same set of record sheets at the bottom in a loose leaf book containing my invention;

Fig. 3a shows edge views of a series of my leveling pads to indicate that the pads of Fig. 3 alternate in arrangement with the pads of Fig. 4 at the top of the book, it being understood that a set of record sheets will lie between each .successive pair of such pads Fig. 4a is a view similar to Fig. 3a to indicate that the pads of Fig. 4 also alternate in arrangement with the pads of Fig.

3 at the bottom of the book. These views in Figs. 3a and 4a indicate the series and alternate arrangement of the pads of Figs.

'3 and 4 at the top andbottom of'a loose leaf book according to the preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 5 shows an edge view ofpart of a loose leaf book arranged vertically, contain- 1931. Serial No. 538,477.

ing dividing sheets, levelingpads, and many 7 banks of the record sheets such as shown in Figs. -1 and 2. In this Fig. 5, a portion of the book filler sheets are shown slightly separated to better indicate the arrangement of parts according to my invention Fig. 6 is a view of Fig. 5 with the book laid on its side to indicate the front edge and how the filler sheets with the leveling pads square up with uniform thickness;

Figs. 7 and 8 are views of one and the same dividing sheet but on opposite sides and showing a modified arrangement of the leveling pads arranged so as to be carried by a dividing sheet; and V Fig. 9 shows perspective views of a pair of leveling pads such as may be used without any backing or carrying or dividing sheets.

I will describe the perferred form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 6, but it should be understood that the arrangement I am about to describe'is intended as illustrative and may be changed in some details without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The loose leaf book 1 as shown is of a well known type except in the character of the leveling pads and their arrangement in the book. The leaves of the book and the leveling pads are all provided with perforations andare removably bound to the book by prongs at the back. Most of the leaves are arranged in separated banks, with a complete index or dividing leaf between adjacent banks. Each bank 3 is made up of sheets over-lapped for title visibility, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and lie between dividing sheets 5, one of which is indicated in Fig. 1 at its outer edge. These overlapped sheets as a whole in each bank extend over the area of a dividing sheet 5. Individually each sheet of a bank is of less area than a dividing sheet. They are all of the same size, like a pack of cards, and are so overlapped that their edges show a visible title for convenient identification. In this spread-out condition the thickness of each bank 3 varies, being greatest in the lateral middle portion and gradually tapering towards both thetop and bottom edges of the book to the thickness of one sheet, as will be are in wide use.

thickness, the need for leveling pads is clear from Fig. 2. I shall refer to this and any similar arrangement of sheets in a bank which tapers toward one of more edges of the book as the record sheets. A complete covering sheet in the book on either side of such record sheets I shall refer to as a dividing sheet. This type of book is commonly arranged as I have described it with alternating banks of record and dividing sheets of desired book thickness. And'due to the variable thickness between the center rious types of leveling pads have been pro.-

1, posed for squaring up such a bookso as to make it of uniform thickness. This is important not only for the sake of a better appearance but more than thatis the importance of a. better ,writingsurface as these books are opened up and used.

So far as I know, the leveling pads heretofore proposed are either expensive to make or of a character detrimental to the flexibility ofthe book, rendering it clumsy and awkward for the work of the user, or both expensive and clumsy. For these reasons the prior art levelin pads have gone into only limited use, alt iough the books described As such books increase in greatly emphasized, and when the leveling pads are expensively constructed the number needed increases the ex 'ense so much that I believe this is one ofthe reasons why they havenot gone'into general .use.

Having these things inmind, I have developedga form of leveling pad structure which is comparatively inexpensive and which by its'variable arrangement in thebook compensates for variations in thickness of the banks of record sheets in an improved manner. i

The structure in its preferred f form is shown in Figs. 3, 3a, 4, and 4a. It consists of two pads a and b of slightly different construction. .The pad a is made up of a backing sheet 9 and along the top edge .a thicker sheet 11 is laid over sheet 9 to forma thick band extending from side toside but only partway down sheet; 9. The pad I) is made therein. One advantage of the backing sheet 9being alike in both pads a and b is that the one Wifththe narrowband will bebound in the book in the sameway that the one with I I thickness. and ends of each bank of record sheetsfvathe much wider band is bound. But this is a detail of the preferred form and not to substantially coincide with thetop and bottom lines of thearea where therecord sheets are overla'pped with 'their maximum It is from the neighborhood of such lines up to the top and bottom edges of the book that one wants to compensate by the use of leveling pads for the tapering thicknesslof the banks of overlapping record sheets. p

It will beseenthat the pad a will compensate for this less than pad 6 because of the difference in areas ofthe thickened partsll and 13. Instead of attempting to make a, pad that. will exactly compensate for the taper of the record sheets, I have deliberately made pad a, which falls somewhat short of this ideal, and pad 6, which goes. somewhat beyond it. In this way I have taken a generous tolerance; which is under inpad a. and over in pad 6 the degree of thickening desired; The narrow thickening band is preferably half of the wider one, so the negative tolerance is equal. a

I have observed: by actual experiment and practice thatI cantakea. loose.,.leaf book made up of any number ofbanks of record sheets, determine the total amount of thickness required to. level up the. top, andbottom V edges of the book with its middle portion, divide such total by the number of banks of record sheets, makejthe thickness of my level? ing pads at their thick portions equal to. the divided amount and level the-book in a perfectly satisfactory way by placing one pair of my leveling pads a and 6 adjacent each bank of record sheets. To do thisit is necessary to have the-pads a andb substantially alternate in'their arrangement through the book so that, for example,; substantiallyone half of pads 64 will be in place at the top of the book and one-half. at the bottom, and each half of-pads b will beplaced likewise.

The orderly and preferred way to do it is positive and to'alternate the position of pads 00 and b from top to bottom of the book as they are placed adjacent successive banks of the record sheets. Of course the exact arrangement maybe varied and still get substantially the same result if the purpose of alternating the position of the leveling padsand the idea of the invention are kept in mind,

-While my description ofthe invention may suggest the need for estimating the amount of leveling necessary in this or that book and putting the user to the bother of doing: a lot of work, the condition of the business does no i fa t. require this.- The only thing the ii; U

user has to do is to buy the standardized record sheets and a number of pairs of level ing pads equal to the number of assembled banks in his'loose leaf binder.

It may be a convenience in some instances to use the eneral dividing sheet which is normally p aced against each bank of record sheets as the backing or carrier for the leveling pads. In such a case, the backing sheets 9 would not be used. The dividing sheet is always put in the book between each bank of record sheets. And so by attaching the thickening pads 11 and 13 directly to the di viding sheet 5, a narrow one on one end and a Wide one on the other end, the arrangement of leveling pads in the book would necessarily be made in accordance with my plan by merely alternating, end for end, the dividing sheets in their proper order. I have shown a preferred-form of this modification in Figs. 7 and 8. It will be noticed that I have put the thickening pads 11 and 13 on opposite ends and opposite sides of the dividing sheet.

In the use of, the book with the leveling pads therein, it is desirable to have the pads flexible. My preferred structure is made of paper or paper-like material, but of course other materials can be used such as fabric, leather, or leather substitutes, or other desired material.

When I make up my leveling pads, I prefer to use paper and I prefer to attach backing sheet 9 to its thickening band 11 or 13 so the two parts move together. These two parts might be positioned in the book without mutual attachment by merely placing them on the binding posts or prongs, and the sheets 9 might even be omitted entirely, as I have indicated in Fig. 9. But as I stated, the backing sheet 9 is less likely to go askew in the book than a narrower band, such as 11, so the latter can be attached to its backing sheet with advantage. It might be pasted over its .r whole area for attachment, but the preferred way, to increase flexibility of the pad, is to make a partial attachment, just enough so the two sheets of the pad will move together to prevent the narrow one going askew. To do this a small margin at any one of the adjacent edges or two of them will be sufficient. I have found it satisfactory to attach the thickening bands 11 and 13 to their backing sheets 9 along two adjacent edges of the band, 3;; as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4 by dotted lines to indicate the pasted portions. This construction permits the easy handling of the pads outside the book and a considerable amount of flexibility between the two in the book.

v The assembled book, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, consists of the binder and, reading from one side of the book to the other, one arrangement of sheets would be as follows:

I t.) a blank title page 17 like the dividing sheet,

. prior art permits.

a dividing sheet 5, a bank of record sheets 3, a pair of leveling pads with the backing sheet facing the bank of record sheets, an other dividing sheet, another bank ofrecord sheets, another pair of leveling pads with the backing sheet facing the bank of record sheets but reversed in arrangement with respect to the precedingpair of pads, 'another dividing sheet, etc., throughout the thickness of the book.

The user of such a book will find it of substantial uniform thickness over all; When he turns to any bank of record sheets and starts to write on either side of such sheets he will find a good Writing support from the uniform thickness of the book, and this will be improved in the preferred form because each sheet will be backed up by either the smooth backing sheet of a pad or anadja cent dividing sheet. The backing sheet or the dividing sheet lies between the record sheets and the leveling pad. Thus when the writing comes to the edge of the thickening band of the'pad, the shoulder at that edge will be substantially obliterated or bridged by'the in tervening sheet, giving a good writing support. And the thickness ofthe book from the .writing surface to the cover is made substan tially as level overall as an ordinary writing book by reason of the separated and alternating arrangement of leveling pads.

I have described my structure in its preferred form and with a few modifications, and I desire to claim it as completely as the What I claim is: 400

1. In combination with overlappingrecord sheets and dividing leaves for loose leaf books, pairs of leveling pads composed of sheets of paper-like material having holes along one edge thereof, each sheet having attached thereto a strip of flexible material, the width of one varying from the width of the other in each pair, the pads being assembled within the books'o that the varying widths alter- 11o nate and thus provide a substantially uniform thickness to the assembled filler.

2. An assemblyjof sheets for usein loose leaf books comprising in combinationbanks of overlapped record sheets, each bank being in thicker arrangement approaching themiddle portion than it is approaching the top'and bottom edges, and sets of leveling pads each set of pads being made up of one part that will give more and onethat' will give less than a compensating thickness for the loss of thickness between the middle portion and one of said edges of a bank of record sheets, said sets of leveling pads being arranged for alternating positions between individual banks of record sheets so that the error in said overcompensating for thickness in the use of some pads will be corrected by the under-compensating for thickness in the use of the other C uniform length and thickness but one having pads and the assembly will beofsubstantially f uniform thickness. Y i r 3. A pair of leveling pads comprising two separated portions for use one above and one below the middle portion of a bank of overlapping record sheets, said portions being of substantially double the area of the other, and means to bind the pads in a loose leaf book. Y

4. In combination, a bank of overlapped sheets tapering in thickness from the middle portion toward each of two opposite edges, a pair of leveling pads one having substantially twice the area of the other, one arranged to over-compensate and one arranged to; under-compensate for said taper when placed at opposite sides of said middle portion ofthe bank, a; second bank of said sheets and a second pair of said leveling pads, the latter being arranged over its sheets in the reverse arrangement to that of the first pair over its sheets so that when. the'whole combination is assembled in a pack the latter will be of substantially uniform thickness.

5.v A loose leaf book comprising in combination a cover havingloose leaf binding means, a multiplicity of banks of overlapping visible index record sheets, dividing sheets separating such banks, leveling padsconsisting of two'vseparated backing sheets of substantially equal area and on said backing sheets thickening sheets, one of the latter being substantially twice the area of the other and extending inwardly from the top and bottom edges of the book, said dividing sheets or said-hackingsheets being arranged to overliesai'd thickening sheet as therecord sheets aroused, said setsof leveling pads being an ranged in alternating order in the book so that the areas of the thickening sheets will be substantially equal in the upper and lower portions of the book and the book will be of substantially uniform thickness.

6. In combination with overlapping rec- 0rd sheets and dividing leaves for loose leaf books, pairs of flexible padsof uniform. thick,- ness, but one of greater area than the other,

arranged between the banks of record sheets and. dividing sheets and in alternating relation, to the adjacent pair of pads.

'7.., In combination with overlapping record sheets and dividing leaves for loose leaf books,

sets of wide and narrow leveling padsgmalde of flexiblematerial of uniform thickness throughout, said pads being arranged between the' dividing leaves and banks of. rec'- ord sheets in approximately equal number pif each at both upper and lower ends of the ller.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

FRANK S. SCHADE. 

